A €500,000 strategic investment in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for a shared organizational culture

A Community that defines, according to widespread leadership, the most relevant projects and needs, and the figure of the DEI Leader, to spread the DEI culture pervasively

 

Empoli, May 15, 2025 - After more than two years of work, Var Group, a leader in digital services and solutions, presents “Varieties,” the communication campaign expressing the path taken on inclusion, equity and valuing uniqueness, created in collaboration with Var Group's digital agency Ubics. To concretely spread the DEI culture, a Community has been active for the past year, working to identify the most strategic needs and projects, and the new figure of the DEI Leader is introduced to promote a sustainable and inclusive work environment.

Var Group's DEI initiatives are the concrete result of a 500,000-euro investment that involved more than 200 people in a training, listening and shared transformation process, organized together with partner Kopernicana, which accompanied in a training and experimentation process on the key issues for building an environment that values people's uniqueness: unconscious bias, from paternalism to alliance, inclusive communication and inclusive work.

“Varieties” was born from actively listening to people, which emerged through the survey part of the Great Place to Work® certification process and continued with capillary work throughout Italy and Europe, with the aim of creating a professional context that is authentic, serene and capable of protecting the uniqueness of each person, while fostering freedom of expression, collaboration and innovation.

Var Group has integrated DEI culture into its new organizational model, based on diffuse leadership and holacracy: an approach that values expertise and entrusts decision-making power to those with direct knowledge of the issues at stake.

The DEI community, active and transversal, voted and independently developed projects to be implemented, with the clear intent of spreading a shared culture. It is concrete evidence of change: a living culture, evolving with the organization itself. From the community's joint effort, the company's DEI Manifesto was born, among whose points it is highlighted that “True wealth is in the ability of each person to express his or her own unrepeatable identity, without building armor or adapting to fake normality.”

The campaign, developed together with Ubics, Var Group's Digital Agency, today represents the public face of this commitment: "One Company. Infinite Varieties" is the message accompanying the campaign, emphasizing that Var Group's identity is much more than the sum of its parts. It is the strength of uniqueness expressed in a team united by common values. Currently, only 6 percent of companies in Italy are truly developing an inclusive culture in the workplace (EY European DEI Index).

"We confirm our commitment to DEI. We choose to move forward with determination and a deep sense of responsibility,“ said Francesca Moriani, CEO of Var Group, ”Var Group is founded on the uniqueness of each person, an inexhaustible source of richness, capable of bringing with them a variety of viewpoints that enhance our work environment and stimulate innovation. Companies that know how to embrace, listen to and value the diversity of people are companies destined to foster the development of our country system. Investing in DEI is not just a matter of ethics, but a matter of choices, priorities and social responsibility."

With 98 percent permanent contracts and a higher than average number of women in the ICT sector (27.8 percent compared to the Italian average of 15.1 percent of women enrolled in ICT sectors source: Anvur Report-Gender Equality) Var Group focuses on welfare, work-life balance and professional development. In Italy as well as abroad, it ensures that the rights of men and women workers are always protected in accordance with the law, not only in terms of wages, working conditions, safety in the workplace but also social benefits.

Among the main measures, parenting support includes grants for baby-sitting, corporate daycare and summer camps. Wellness is incentivized with flexible benefits for food, sports and cultural expenses, nutritional counseling and health packages.

Training is also a strategic pillar: in the last year alone, 63,233 hours of training were provided, which translates into an average of 16.4 hours per employee, demonstrating the continuous effort to ensure opportunities for professional development and updating for all resources.

Var Group actively promotes intergenerational integration and has introduced welfare paths that take into account the needs of different generations of employees: free psychological desk, corporate microcredit, support for opening mortgages to the under-35s, smart working and digital management of vacations.